Traveling

The ferry to Smith Island.

Rejoice in everything, and go on in different pilgrimages knowing perfectly well that life is not going to end anywhere, the journey will continue, the caravan will continue.  There is no place where the road ends.

~ Osho, from Tarot in the Spirit of Zen

A birthday sunset in Crisfield.

Yesterday was M’s birthday.  We originally intended to celebrate it early, on Wednesday, in Ocean City (O.C.) where we would have gone bowling, perhaps taken a walk on the boardwalk, and then had dinner at one of the many restaurants in O.C.  However, the ice storm came, and O.C. will have to wait for another day.

Beautiful evening.

Instead, we went to Crisfield yesterday evening and had a fine celebration that started with watching the sunset from the Crisfield dock, and then dinner and a few beers at the Chesapeake Brewing Company (formerly the Blue Crab Cafe).

Going…

It was chilly out on the dock, but worth braving the cold to see the beauty of the sky and water as the sun set.  I left the big camera at home.  All the sunset images were taken with Lulu (the little point-and-shoot-everything-proof camera).  She did a fine job of capturing the light and colors.

…going…

The Chesapeake Brewing Company had a few of their beers on tap.  I spent the evening enjoying their double IPA (because I’m a hop head and enjoy hoppy beers).  M sampled their pale ale and oyster stout.  They were all good.

…gone.

For dinner, we did something unusual and ordered pretty much the same thing.  Our usual modus operandi is for us to each order something different so we can split our plates, thereby allowing us to sample more than one dish.  The chill we acquired watching the sunset made hot soup appealing, and we both ended up with the shrimp and sausage gumbo, and a side salad.  The soup was yummy, perfectly spicy (a little kick, but not overwhelming), filled with veggies as well as the shrimp and sausage, and very satisfying.

Buoys and markers.

I almost forgot!  We also had the crab and shrimp dip as an appetizer.  You can’t go anywhere around here without encountering crab in dips, sandwiches, cakes (as in crab cakes, not dessert cakes although it wouldn’t surprise me if someone around here made a dessert that included crab), entrees, and straight up on its own.  I’ve been training my palate to like crab by trying it whenever we eat out.  I did enjoy the dip, and had no trouble eating my portion of it.  That’s an improvement over when we first moved here and I wouldn’t take more than a taste or two of any dish that included crab.

Moving off into the sunset.

We met the owners, Carolyn and David, and spent quite a bit of time chatting with Carolyn.  We’ll be going back again, probably on a regular basis, because you can’t beat the combination of good food, good beer, friendly service, and good conversation.  They are planning a February or March evening of Indian food made by one of their neighbors, to be paired with their beers, and M and I are really looking forward to that.

The crab trap Christmas tree in Crisfield.

That’s about it from the Wabi-Sabi Ranch on this sunny and beautiful Saturday.  Get out and enjoy it while you can.  Rain is moving in again tomorrow.  It’s bringing warm temperatures with it (50’s), and then another cool down (into the 40’s).  Let’s go out to the dock for sunset (it’s at 5:09 PM).  Bundle up.  It’s only in the 30’s today.  I’ll bring hot chocolate, enough to share and keep us all warm.

Leaving the Crisfield dock.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

One last look.

Today’s joys:  Sunshine and clear, blue skies; listening to the blues on the radio; spending the day with M; getting caught up on the laundry; a good day for hanging laundry outside to dry.